


the duplicitous traveller, sketching truth

by bubblewrapstargirl



Series: the lone traveller multiverse [20]
Category: A Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Blood Magic, F/M, Future Fic, Implied/Referenced miscarriage, No babies were stolen in the making of this fic, Shadowbinders
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-09
Updated: 2018-03-11
Packaged: 2019-03-29 05:49:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,151
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13920699
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bubblewrapstargirl/pseuds/bubblewrapstargirl
Summary: One: Thea Baratheon (nee Greyjoy) makes a bold decision to secure the future of her House, dragging her unwilling Mother into the scheme.Two: Thea and Sansa make a terrible discovery and scramble to alleviate it.Three: Thea pays the Iron Price for the future of House Baratheon of King's Landing, and Sansa makes a surprising political decision.





	1. Chapter 1

“Thea!” Mother called, her icy voice lashing out like a whip.

Thea stopped at once, conditioned to the sound of her lady mother’s voice, echoing down Pyke’s long stone corridors. Mother’s voice, ringing through Highgarden’s elegant marble walls decorated as they were with elaborate sound-muffling tapestries, wasn’t much different- though the passages were much less dingy and damp. Then she cringed, realising her mistake, and had only scant seconds to cover for it. She turned with a guileless smile on her rosy lips. 

“I’m Robbyn, Mother!” She tittered innocently, “Thea is already homeward bound, remember? The ship set sail…”

“Don’t try your games with me, Thea. You test my patience as it is.” Mother hissed, “You might have been able to fool your father and brothers, perhaps even Leo. But not I. I brought you into this world. You think I cannot tell my girls apart?”

Thea had only a moment to make up her mind. She could protest, but Mother had never been one to be easily fooled. Mother didn’t talk much about her abilities as a Seer, but perhaps her ability to look through a lie stemmed from that. Besides, taking Mother into her confidence was always the smarter choice.

“Come into the solar, Mother.” Thea said imperiously, dropping the act.

Once they were safely inside, Thea sat primly at Robbyn’s table, Mother joining her with a wary look on her face. The two women sat close together, so that they may talk in hushed tones and still hear one another. It did not do to be incautious. Thea didn’t know quite where to begin, to explain their scheme, but knew at least that Mother would be discreet. Sansa Greyjoy wasn’t one to make foolish mistakes, out of a need to be honourable and truthful at all times. She wouldn’t expose them, regardless of how distasteful she found their scheme.

“Why are you here? Why did Robbyn consent to this game? You are not girls any longer, this cannot be a mere jape. Not for her to have committed to going all the way to the Capital of the Five Kingdoms.” Mother began shrewdly, fixing her second daughter with a sharp look.

Thea worried at the pretty tablecloth covering Robbyn’s solar table nervously. 

“I don’t think I can have children.” she eventually whispered, ashamed that a hot tear slipped down her cheek. She quickly scrubbed it out of existence.

“Oh, my dear girl,” Mother murmured, leaning forward to stroke her hand down Thea’s cheek gently. “But I don’t understand what....”

Then Mother’s eyes widened in horror as she pieced the puzzle together, and she jerked her hand back as though Thea’s skin were poison. Lightning quick, she reared forward and struck Thea's cheek with a resounding slap, forcing Thea’s head to the side, before she clutched her stinging face in disbelief. Mother wasn’t a violent or volatile person, so the action was a great shock to her.

“Stupid, stupid girl.” Mother snarled viciously. “You have put our entire family at risk! If King Robert finds out, he could have your sister killed!”

“Who would believe it?” Thea replied, “No one would think-”

“You assume!” Mother said in a forceful whisper, still mindful that someone might overhear. “You guess! Do you think Cersei Lannister ever expected anyone to find out about her bastards?”

Mother was white with fury, rendered speechless as she shook her head in disbelief, utterly disappointed in her foolish daughter. 

“The Five Kingdoms still far, far outweigh us in military power and wealth. Should they rise against us…” Mother shook her head again, “You witless imbecile. You have jeopardized our entire realm. And Robert Baratheon’s legacy, which he lost once already. Do you think he would spare your sister, out of sentiment, for our sake-?”

“Then you had best help me ensure that no one finds out,” Thea countered mulishly, unwilling to admit her misdeed for what it was. She was not afraid of old King Robert, wheezing in his deathbed.

Mother sat back heavily into her chair, biting down on the nail of her thumb, but said nothing, looking out across the room with unseeing eyes.

“What was I supposed to do?!” Thea finally snapped, “I’ve already lost two babes within me. Harlen needs an heir. Or he will set me aside!”

“So you send your sister in your place?” Mother said scornfully. “While you play at being Lady Tyrell, and hope your sister’s children will accept you as their mother, in the interim. You truly expect your sister to just surrender her child to you?”

“It was her idea,” Thea insisted, as though that made any difference. "It is no secret that Steffon is sickly. He has one daughter and no sons, if he dies without male issue, Harlen will be King. A King must have an heir."

Mother glared at her in furious disgust, but did not deny her words. It was enough vindication for Thea to take heart once more in the plan they had concocted.

“I cannot prevent this scheme without revealing it.” Mother said at length. “But do not think I will ever forget the position you have put me in here. Do not turn to me with your tears, when your sister wishes to tell her child the truth, and the child comes to hate you both, for the lie you have made of their life.”

“It won’t be like that.” Thea said naïvely, “No babe will be more loved-”

“My brother Jon was loved.” Mother countered mercilessly. “And he has never forgiven my father for claiming him as his own, when he was not.”

There was nothing Thea could say to that. She could only pray that the outcome would not be the same for her. But that time if it ever came, was too far away to consider now. She could not know how quickly the years would rush up to meet her, before she would be called up, to be held accountable for her decisions, her excuses found wanting and her pleas falling on deaf ears.


	2. Chapter 2

A letter came from the Capital for Thea, though of course it was addressed to Lady Tyrell. Her sister’s hand, so close to her own, spelling out death for them both, and doom for their family. Face pallid, skin sweaty from running the entire way with her skirts in her hands, Thea rushed into the chambers that had been given to her mother, when Sansa Greyjoy had moved to Highgarden permanently.

Thea burst into the room like a summer storm. But she carefully shut the door behind her, so as not to let it slam. It would not do to have the servants come running. Secrecy and discretion were paramount, now more than ever. Mother turned to her, her face full of concern when she saw the ashen horror displayed on Thea’s features. 

“What is it?” she asked, charging forward to clasp Thea’s forearm with her hand. “What has happened?”

“All is lost,” Thea said in a low, limp voice. With out another word, Thea handed her lady mother the missive which spelled the destruction of their House, and war against their people.

With trembling fingers, Mother held the scroll and read the words aloud; 

“Dearest Robbyn, happy news at last! I am with child. Maester Hayle says it is definite, though Harlen and I did not lay together on the journey home, for we were too seasick on the boat for such activities. Highgarden must be a special place for Greyjoys, as the babe was conceived there. You must come to the Capital at once, I insist. I need my sister with me at this precious time.”

The word Highgarden had been written with force, the emphasis obvious in its meaning. The scroll fell from Mother’s hand, landing to the floor like the footfall of a hundred thousand soldiers bearing death down upon them.

“You made the switch, at the harbour?” Mother confirmed, but she barely saw Thea’s answering nod. “Then the child is not Harlen’s. It will not be born with Baratheon features, and your sister will be beheaded as a whore.”

Thea began to weep, her shoulders shuddering as she shivered in fear and regret.

“This is what comes of folly and cunning schemes,” Mother said, slow and deliberate. “You have murdered us all.”

“No!” Thea moaned, “No, no, I will go to the Capital. I can save her.”

“It will be too late by then, she will be showing.” Mother countered, “It is hopeless.”

Thea shook her head, clutching onto her lady mother’s upper arms. “Please Mother, you must know a way out of this, you must help me!”

For a long time, Mother said nothing, watching her youngest daughter with reluctance and suspicion, before she finally gave a decisive nod. 

“Imprudent girl. You will follow my instruction absolutely?” She asked, in the manner of an order.

Thea nodded vigorously, immediately. What other path could she take? She could not see a way forward, but Mother had the Sight, she was favoured by the gods. She may be able to beg the old gods for good fortune that they would not grant Thea.

“I will pray,” announced Mother, “and then I will send a raven to Dragonstone.”

“To Uncle Jon?” said Thea, bewildered by the non-sequitur, “Whatever for?”

“No,” said Mother, “To Aemon. Only Aemon can save us now.”

“Aemon,” Thea repeated faintly, “But they say he practices blood magic, like his mother.”

“He saved Jojen Reed’s life,” Mother said firmly, “And we will be very lucky if he manages to save our’s, from the hangman’s noose that you have wrapped around our collective throats.”

“What can he possibly do for me? My body will not support a child.” Thea began to worry her left finger-beds with her other hand, until Mother prized them apart and sent her a quelling look.

“You assume, and it will one day be your downfall. But not this day,” Mother dismissed her claims, “Aemon is capable of a great many things. He may not be able to make your body able to host a child at any given time. But to bring forth a special child, at a specific time, as a result of a certain ritual? Yes. Aemon is certainly capable of that.”

“But at what cost? What will he take in return?” Thea pressed, still worried. “What shall we sacrifice in order to fulfill the wishes of a shadowbinder?”

“You dare to ask? You will give him whatever he demands,” Mother said darkly, fixing Thea with a stony, unimpressed look. “You will pay the Iron price for your foolish behaviour, and without complaint. You have brought this upon yourself, and you have no one else to blame.”

Thea could not dispute that, and so she did not try.

*

Thea had been fraught the entire way to King’s Landing, on the swiftest Redwyne ship available. An Ironborn galley would have been best, but none were moored in the Reach that they knew of. Waiting for one to arrive from Pyke would take too long. They had no choice but to board the most robust vessel available, and hope they would be on time.

Robbyn’s baby was only just beginning to show, her smile fixed but her eyes terrified, when they arrived at Robert Baratheon’s court. They had sent out the news that Robbyn was with child also. Leo was overjoyed at the thought of another child, and could not understand why his apparent wife wished to travel so far when newly pregnant. But Mother ran roughshod across his complaints, and so they arrived in King’s Landing with their household. Thea had stuffed her dresses with a little padding, to cover her lack of expanding stomach, though in the early stages they could pretend she was just not showing yet.

Aemon met them at the port, grim and serious, skulking in the shadows as always. Thea went to meet with her sister, while Mother explained the whole sordid tale to their cousin. Robbyn had sequestered herself away for the duration of her pregnancy so far. Thea’s previous lost pregnancies were an easy excuse, to keep herself out of the public eye. But their family was another thing altogether; Harlen, Robert and Margaery all visiting regularly to assure themselves of her continuing comfort. She scarcely had a moment alone; if they were not there, her ladies in waiting were crowding around her, sharing stories of their own babes and pregnancies.

In the end, they were only afforded a fraught half-hour, when the servants were sent away. Robbyn leapt from Thea’s bed, dragging off her nightdress for Thea to pull on. With Mother on hand to draw Robbyn’s hair back into the simple style that Thea had purposefully worn that day, Robbyn herself pulled on Thea’s pretty, wrap-around dress. In a matter of moments they were done. With Thea back in her rightful bed, pretending to be with child, and Robbyn in her own Tyrell-blue dress, primly sat beside Mother as a dutiful sister would.

Aemon had not outlined his plans yet, or what required from her. But Thea had Mother’s assurance that he had the skill necessary, to draw a babe from her hostile, barren womb. She could only hope that whatever blood magic she was forced to partake in, would not ruin her chances of meeting her ancestors in the Drowned God’s watery halls.

She did not know if they would manage to perform the ritual without being caught. Perhaps she would have to fake another loss. But more pertinently, Thea knew she would not have been able to find a way out of this mess without her mother’s level-headed, calm assistance. Mother had no nonsense about her, and Thea had never been more grateful for it.

But when she attempted to thank her, Mother would not have it.

“Do not thank me for deeds I was forced to perform, to ensure the safety of our House, after you brought us almost to the brink of ruin. A more terrible position I do not know that I was ever in,” Mother hissed, bringing an embarrassed blush to Thea’s cheek.

“I am sorry, Mother.” she said, “You must know that I will never try such a thing again.”

“If you do, I shall not be here to see it,” Mother replied promptly. “You have tried my patience to its limit. But my greatest sadness from this endeavour, is that you have made me glad for the very first time that your lord father is no longer with us, to see the reckless knave you have become.”

Ashamed, Thea dipped her head. Allowing her Mother’s harsh censure to wash over her, waves of contempt almost dragging her under. She could not be sorry for doing everything in her power, to endure the safety of her marriage and position in the world. But she was very sorry that it had jeopardised the people that she loved most. Thea had been a fool not to come to Mother in the first instance, to consider every possible angle, before she tied a knot she could not easily undo.

If she had, she might not be relying on Aemon, to help her birth some abominable shadow-creature, to pass off as her child. Only the gods knew what kind of half-breed she would be bringing into the world, as a direct result of her ill-conceived plot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you knew me IRL, you would know that I detest baby-stealing storylines of any and all kinds. Loathe them. Not only are they a goddamn horrific thing to think about happening to anyone, they're plain lazy storytelling. So instead you get the old bait-and-switch ;)


	3. Chapter 3

The ritual wasn't as terrible as Thea had imagined it was going to be. It required King’s blood, and lots of it. She had thought for one moment Aemon was asking her to kill old King Robert, but of course he was more sensible than that. 

They all had King’s blood; Robbyn and Thea through their father, Aemon from his ancestors, even Harlen volunteered some, though unknowingly, when Thea persuaded him to play a risky bedroom game involving ropes and a knife. Mother's blood was most potent of all, being both mother and sister to a King, with her coming from the ancient bloodline of Winter kings. 

Aside from Harlen, all of them had their blood sucked by leeches, which were then ground up into a paste. On the night of a full moon, a lump of it was stirred into a thin broth Thea had to drink, which also contained dragon blood, wolf meat and the eye of a stag. The rest of the paste was spread out into curious symbols on her stomach, which glowed unnaturally when Aemon chanted over them, his eyes glinting blood-red in the firelight.

Thea could not wash off the leech paste until it burned, telling her a child had been conceived. She lay with Harlen repeatedly that night, wearing a dark night dress so the dark marks would not be visible through it. In the hour of the wolf, her stomach began to sting, and she hurried to her water bowl, and used a rag to wash away the evidence of the blood magic. She poured the incriminating bloody water out of the window, and settled back into bed with her oblivious husband. Sleep did not come easy, but then she did not expect it to ever again, now that some kind of half-breed monster was growing within her.

*

When she returned from breaking her fast in the morn with Robbyn and Mother, outside in the gardens, (having insisted that the babe needed fresh air and for her not to be cooped up inside every single day), Thea found a surprise guest in her solar.

A dark and silent hulk of a man stood in the corner the room when she entered it. His dark brow was heavy with a natural scowling look, his features best suited to grim expressions. Thea started in surprise, before a wide smile broke out on her face.

“Nuncle!” She cried, running forward to throw her arms about Victarion Greyjoy’s beefy neck. “Oh, what a lovely surprise!”

Her late lord father’s uncle patted her on the back gently, a man very much aware of his own strength.

“And a sweet sight you are, lass.” he said gruffy, with a small grin.

“Have you come to King’s Landing for trade? Or is it only a waypoint to somewhere more adventurous?” asked Thea, her eyes bright with excitement. 

She rarely saw her Ironborn relatives, living as she did at the other side of Westeros. And with how distantly they were treated by the Baratheon court at King’s Landing, she could not blame them for not wanting to make the journey often. Though they were always received with joy by Thea herself, the rest of the court were leery and would often make rude japes at their expense. Only to make the situation more uncomfortable when the Ironborn responded in kind. Thea could not blame them for it; her people were proud of their heritage and rightly so, even if they only raided far from Westeros’ shores now, as per the agreements set down after the war of the False Stags.

Mother entered the room behind her, silent as a grave.

“He is here for me,” she said, and Thea turned to her in shock. It had been many years since Mother had set foot on the Islands. She said they were too full of ghosts and memories for her, the entirety of their shores barren and unwelcoming, now that Father had alighted from them forever.

“For you?” Thea clarified, “Are you going home to Pyke, Mother?”

“No,” said Mother shortly. “I told you I am done providing an escape from calamity, for you and your sister both. And unlike you girls, your brother Urrigon is perfectly capable of seeing to his own affairs, without my help. Jon, likewise, does not need me either.”

“But surely you cannot mean…?” Thea trailed off uncertainly. 

Mother and Father had travelled far in their day. Her youngest brother had even been born in Essos, during their far-flung adventures. But Mother was not the sort of woman to go gallivanting off on her own, without the protection that a marriage afforded her. Mother hadn’t left the comfort of their family since father died; first advising Uri when he won the Kingsmoot, then spending several years in the Reach with Robbyn. Mother visited King’s Landing occasionally to check on Thea, or else went to Jon at the Crag, in mainland Ironborn territory. It was extremely out of character for Mother to want to leave them, and that worried Thea.

“But where shall you go?” She pressed, “Do you truly mean to leave Westeros?”

“Did I not say as much already?” Mother reminded her, “My nerves cannot take being the shelter for your every storm. Send your pleas to Uri, and hope that he will save you from yourself.”

“There won’t be a need for it in future!” Thea wailed, “Mother, please don’t go!”

“Hush, child.” Mother said firmly, “It shall not be forever. But it is past time that I visited your brother in Volantis.”

The set of Mother's chin was firm, her burning red hair bouncing faintly as she shook her head, resolute.

“Volantis?” repeated Thea faintly. “But there have been rumours of grave dangers in the Summer Sea, even so close to Westeros. The Stepstones have closed themselves off, and the Dornish report more and more strange occurrences by the day!”

“Why else would I call upon your Uncle to defend me?” Mother pointed out, “Do you think me ignorant of the world outside our family, Thea?”

“No, Mother,” Thea blushed, chastened. “It is only that I worry for you, and I need you here. It is my first babe Mother. What if I cannot raise it properly?”

“It will be a babe like any other,” said Mother reassuringly, with a warning glance toward Nuncle Victarion, who of course knew nothing about the magic. “You have your goodmother and sister here at court. Margaery can provide you with much motherly comfort, and I will write to you. You are not alone, and I have not seen my youngest son for years. Letters alone cannot ease a mother's mind.”

Thea signed heavily. She did not know what manner of beast was growing within her, and doubted even Robbyn could ease her worries over it. Selfish it might make her, but she needed Mother more than her brother did. Men were expected to cope alone. But a woman grew to rely on the ladies around her for support. It was not fair of Mother to leave her now, at such a crucial time. But Thea could see that Mother would not be moved by this, so tried another tactic.

“What of yourself Mother?” She said carefully, “Do you not worry what might happen, should you be separated on the journey? Nuncle’s protection is formidable, but an unwedded woman with a prestigious name, is always at risk. You could be forcibly wed for your perceived wealth.”

Mother levelled her with a flat look. “Clever girl. Did you think that was a conclusion I would miss? That is also why your uncle is here.”

Thea looked between her two relatives. Nuncle, silently brooding, a man built like a brick wall. So like Jon in looks, that their brother constantly wore his hair and clothing in the manner their father did, to avoid the japes that he was actually their Nuncle’s get. Now the silly rumours would begin again in earnest.

Thea pointed this out, but Mother only laughed.

“It will be a marriage in name only, and anyone who knows us well will understand that.” She dismissed Thea’s final argument with a wave of her hand. "This way I will not have to give up the Greyjoy name, which I shall relinquish for no man."

Mother stepped close to her then, placing her hands on the sides of Thea’s face. 

“This is not a punishment, my darling girl,” she said softly, “Do not take it to heart so. But it is time that I left these shores. Everywhere I look, I see echoes of your father. Of the life we spent together, in such love and laughter, cut short in its prime. It breaks my heart, at each and every reminder that we will never reenact those moments together again.”

“But to go so far?” Thea sniffled. “Must you, truly?”

“I have never been to the part of Volantis which Sandor calls home,” Mother replied, “It will be an adventure. Which is excellent, as I am in sore need of one.”

Thea surrendered then, and allowed her lady mother to pull her close. Whatever creature was soon to be born, suckle from her and call her ‘mother’, she must learn to deal with, without the protection of her own. She supposed it was probably a fitting consequence. To be plunged into such a circumstance by the Drowned God, in recompense for almost destroying the lives of his most devoted followers.


End file.
